I walk forward into the silver tower, taking a step up the spiral stairs. There is no railing, as the silver barrier hugs the left side of the stairs all the way up.
They're extremely wide—several hundred meters—enough to fit a full dragon, even in its normal form.
However, Ember stays in his human base form.
The moment we both step onto the first stair, the archway that connected these stairs to the outer room shuts, and the only way we can go is up.
The green threads in the air are very thin, slowly moving in circles. It feels like an energizing breeze as small amounts of them collect in my body and seep toward my core.
I take another step upward. It looks like the higher I climb, the denser the air gets with green threads. It reminds me of when I tried getting close to the green serpent in Celia's construct. However, the density of divine energy at the very top is far too strong for my senses to even perceive.
It is on a whole new level—extremely dark green—and feels like a bottomless well of gravity pressing against my senses.
My curiosity grows as I take more steps, but Ember doesn't move just yet.
He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, then opens them again to release a large amount of silver threads from his core.
The threads tether throughout his entire body, making him appear as a shimmering silver energy being.Then, he takes a step forward, and the space where he was standing is now devoid of divine energy.
While the green threads flow through me, and only a small amount sticks within my core after processing, one hundred percent of the threads Ember touches disappear within him.
I turn around with wide eyes, and he grins.
"It isn't as effective as it looks. My core still has to process the threads inside my body. It may be faster to convert my core to green, but it's going to take me a while to save my physical body from fading away... Believe it or not, this is the first time I've attempted to reach the Upper Realm with my physical form intact. I wonder if it's even possible..."
He looks up with a pondering gaze, then meets mine with a face covered in shimmering silver light.
I reply while turning back to the stairs and continuing my slow walk upward.
"What is the Upper Realm? The demons talk about it a lot... Their family lords are all there. Does that mean they've all given up their bodies as well?"
My slow steps turn faster, skipping a few at a time, as the low density of green threads down here isn't affecting me much since I already consumed that orb from the first floor.
Ember follows far behind, not wanting to affect my absorption, and instead sucks up the excess threads below.
"Yes, it's true. The leaders of the Five Great Families live on the higher plane. It's the only way to continue growing stronger. The energy density in the Upper Realm is far higher—no mere Yellow Core could even survive standing under its pressure. The same goes for if a higher lifeform were to descend to this realm. They could cause destruction and overpower those around them, but there are no useful resources to gather. It isn't worth the cost to descend."
We continue upward, and I ponder his words while taking in more and more green threads.
After traveling above five kilometers into the air, the green thread density has tripled, but the rate at which I absorb them is nowhere near what it was when I consumed that orb during our battle. It is still a leisurely activity.
However, I feel the odd sensation of the purple ring around my finger pulling trace amounts of green threads into it, too. Every once in a while, it glows, and the thin barrier around me feels slightly stronger. It raises a few questions, so I turn around and point to my ring. ȑΑŊɵBΕS
"Then how come I have this purple ring? Why or how would it come down here? And the beings that were in that construct—the artifact itself that opened up a portal to the construct was cyan. That's above green, isn't it?"
Ember nods, looking at the ring and then back to me.
"While it may look, sound, and feel like a being, that artifact is a dying echo of whatever creator sent it down here into the Lower Realm. Just like the silver threads I use now, it is a minuscule, sealed portion of its true power. If unaltered purple threads were near us right now, they would easily split this world in two—no—this entire solar system would be demolished by the pressure of its existence alone. I bet it would break through this tower with ease."
He grins, but my eyes widen as I stare at the ring with newfound awe.
"It would break through the tower? But how? Isn't it made from the silver energy of an immortal? An Overseer, right?"
Ember nods as we rise even higher, surpassing ten kilometers, where the green thread density doubles again.
"Even this tower is a sealed artifact from the Upper Realm. Just like I use a thin, lesser version of my silver threads, this isn't the true power of an Overseer. It is merely a tool crafted by one to help its underlings ascend while simultaneously building wealth in the Lower Realm to continue their expansion. There are other ways to ascend—this just happens to be the easiest."
We climb the stairs in silence for a while, as more pieces of this puzzle fall into place.
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While my mind races, my links of loyalty surpass 200 million.
---
Outside the tower, the Crimson Army, the Commanders, and the Generals all regroup to celebrate their victory.
Bri and Rodrigo celebrate at the Apex Region's headquarters with all the high-level hunters, while word spreads through Central Headquarters that their manipulative leaders have been killed. Soon, they will be free to venture off of the flaming mountain and out into the real world if they wish.
More and more people in the outer nations who have never heard of the Flame Emperor before today begin creating links of loyalty, eager not to miss out on the stat bonuses and the mind-bending reality of the world they now understand is unfolding before them.
The Four Generals—Raven, Abby, Maria, and Arie—reconnect their live feeds to show the state of the battlefield. Raven takes charge of the narrative, explaining the true state of the world before the system connected and the gravity of the situation that was just resolved. Plus, expands on their plans moving forward.
As time passes and more links of loyalty pile in, each of the Generals speaks to the world, filling new links in on what happened today.
Celebrations erupt all over the Dark Continent, the Eight Great Regions, the Central Capital, and the newly formed nations.
Many were here from the start, while many are only watching now. But it is clear: a new era in this world's history is about to begin.
The tensions and uncertainties of the Great War have finally been dispelled. The entire world is now connected through this mysterious Flame Emperor, who they all see walking up an endless flight of stairs in silence.
---
I feel the threads' density multiply many times over as I reach a height of over fifty kilometers.
This is when I start to slow down, taking each step one by one while pulling in as much of the ambient green energy around me as I can.
I feel more and more green threads pouring into my True Core, pushing the dense yellow energy in its center down into an increasingly compact ball of bright yellow-white light.
At first, it was still semi-painful to process all of this green energy through my constantly regenerating flesh. But the more compact my True Core gets, the more natural it feels for the green energy to combine with my blood, flesh, and bones.
It all melds together, turning my entire being a shade of green.
My Soul Sword remains dormant—jet-black—floating slowly around me in circles. The ratio of yellow to green threads inside it shifts in perfect sync with my core, as they are linked.
In addition to this, the purple ring around my finger pulses more and more, drawing in large amounts of the green threads now that the air is denser. The barrier around me seems to strengthen, but for some reason, it remains made of purple threads. I can't tell where the excess green energy is going—it's as if it's disappearing inside the ring, like it's being devoured.
I raise the question to Ember in my confusion.
"Celia—I mean, my ring—it's pulling in green threads, but somehow the purple energy it uses is getting slightly stronger. How exactly does that work?"
Ember chuckles.
"That is something you'll learn in the Upper Realm. Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue—even purple—they're all the same. It's just Divine Energy."
I raise an eyebrow as he continues, and at the same time, I feel the green divine threads in my core crushing my True Core into an even denser form, forcing the brightly glowing yellow ball to shrink to the size of a marble.
"In this Lower Realm, that ring of yours was a tool made for a third-class world like this. The creator framed it as a pocket dimension for free trade of mana, demonic energy, and resources, right?"
I nod, and Ember continues.
"Some of those resources just happened to be Divine Fragments—conveniently compact and digestible in small sizes. It allows lower lifeforms to begin the process of wielding divine power. All of this energy is siphoned from the Upper Realm. If not for the push of that helpful artifact, I doubt there would be enough ambient Divine Energy on this entire planet for even one red core to form."
My eyes widen, and at the same time, I feel the tiny ball of compact yellow energy in my chest begin to shift, showing a pale greenish tint.
Everything clicks.
"That's why you called it such a rudimentary form when you first saw it... Divine threads can be compacted into denser and denser forms. They just appear as different shades of color when they stabilize into a new usable density..."
Ember nods slowly.
"Yes, exactly. While it may look like your ring is making the threads in the air disappear, it is merely recharging its fading existence that has withered away in this Lower Realm. It would be the same as if you absorbed a red fragment right now. The energy would disappear into your core, empowering you a tiny fractional amount—seemingly vanishing—but in reality, it's just Divine Energy making its home in your core."
I turn back around, satisfied with his answer, as I walk up the steps even further, another twenty kilometers into the sky.
The center of my True Core compacts more and more, shifting to an extremely light green with traces of yellow still holding on.
Then, I turn around as another odd question hits me.
"Then, if you were to release divine threads into the atmosphere and spread them out over a massive open area, wouldn't they all revert back to red?"
Ember shakes his head.
"Good assumption, but once a new stable density is reached, it takes immense power to separate Divine Energy from its settled form. I can only assume this purple core you hold is in its current state not only from its age but from the energy exerted in separating parts of its core into digestible smaller fragments. Once you break through to higher stages, it becomes far easier to convert lower energy into the already cycling core within you."
It makes sense. Just as when absorbing fragments, one doesn't remain at the same core color until fully breaking through. However, there are still many unanswered questions.
As I walk deeper and deeper into the green fog of divine energy above, I push these thoughts to the back of my mind.
Once I reach this Upper Realm, I'm sure much more will become clear.
The pressure and gravity up here are intense. Now that I've climbed another thirty kilometers, my body begins to be attacked mercilessly by the threads again. It has to re-adapt as my bones rattle, and my skin feels as though it's peeling from burns and thousands of knife slashes.
Even my eyes, brain, and organs are torn to shreds and rebuilt over and over until I store enough green threads in my core to withstand it naturally.
My body morphs and adapts.
I'm absorbing the same amount of energy I did from that green orb every minute, and the feeling of absolute power surging through me is incredible.
The last remnants of the yellow threads in my chest compress until they are no longer visible.
The entire core in my chest turns bright green, and a pulse of overwhelming gravity ripples out from my eyes, mouth, and green core, setting my new energy standard in stone.
I take deep breaths. Even now, with a dense green Divine Core cycling threads in my chest, my body doesn't want to stay.
Every part of my being becomes super-saturated with green threads, but it still feels unnatural. Half of me is holding on, and my Divine Core continuously adapts, pushing to new limits.
Now that I have a green core, the threads surrounding me are far easier to pull in and process. However, in such a chaotic environment, it's difficult to conceptualize how much stronger I've really become.
The gravity, heat, and pressure rises the higher I climb, but I stay focused and continue upward another fifty kilometers. My core absorbs far more green threads, and the top of this tower begins to feel like it's really within reach. The stairs only stretch another hundred kilometers at most.
However, even now with my upgraded perception, the extremely concentrated well of strange gravity at the top of these stairs feels exactly the same as it did when I was looking at it from the bottom.
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